Red Pepper Quilts on Etsy

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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

This week I have been busy making Economy Blocks. It seems this traditional patchwork block is well known but perhaps not as an Economy Block but rather as a Square in a Square block. Either way it is a fun block to make!

I have pieced my blocks by rotary cutting the pieces, slightly over-sizing the triangles and trimming for accuracy. I thought it might be useful to share with you a tutorial for this process.

Step 4 Trim the unit to measure 4 inches x 4 inches. Place the 2 inch line of your ruler directly on top of the center point of the unit adding a quarter inch allowance all around:

Step 5 Using a 1/4 inch seam allowance sew the outer triangles to the unit (in the same manner as described in step 2 and step 3 above).

Step 6 Trim the unit to measure 5 1/2 inches x 5 1/2 inches by placing the 2 3/4 inch mark of your ruler on what will be the center point of your unit (where the seams intersect), adding a quarter inch all around (see the black arrow). You will notice also that the center square is framed by the 1 1/2 inch and 4 inch lines on your ruler (see the red arrows).

And now you have a perfectly pieced 5 1/2 inch Economy block.

Of course there are other ways to piece this block including by cutting the exact size triangles and therefore avoiding the trimming process however I tend to prefer over-sizing and trimming units, especially when it comes to triangles. There is no right or wrong way, do what works for you and what you are comfortable with.

The Economy Block can also be paper-pieced. Foundation Paper Piecing is easy and very accurate. In case this is your preferred piecing method I have made the Foundation Paper for this block available as a PDF file available for $2.00 from my Pattern Store.The download is ONLY for the 5 Inch Foundation Paper Piecing Pattern and does NOT including any paper piecing or assembly instructions but be sure to over size your pieces so ensure easy fabric placement : ~

58 comments:

Thanks for the tutorial! I just used your flying geese tute on the weekend to make my first ever flying geese (never thought I would!). I appreciate you sharing your expertise :-)And lovely quilt top, as always.

Hi Rita, your blocks look great, I do like a bit of fussy cutting, and have enjoyed the odd glimpse on IG. Thanks so much for the tutorial. Do you press towards the outside each time when making the block? And how about when you sew the blocks together? Thanks again.Hen x

Hi Hen - thank you for stopping by. Yes, when making the block press seams away from the center of the block.

When sewing blocks together I pressed seams together to one side, alternating direction for each row.

When sewing rows together into a quilt top I pressed seams open. I very rarely press seams open but in this instance it was useful to do so as it spread any bulk in the seams and allowed the point to remain sharp.

So pretty, Rita, as always! Thanks for the explanation of how you went about doing these blocks. I've recently started over sizing & trimming my triangle units (before I'd used an easy angle tool) and am much happier with the results.

Thank you for stopping by! I cut fabric for blocks in batches - up to 12 blocks at a time, and then sew them. I rarely cut all fabric for a quilt before sewing. I like to see how the quilt is looking and make changes if need be.

Very good tutorial. Thank you. I have made this quilt using up scraps from my stash similar to yours trying to make a fussy cut centre block. For the inner triangles I used white and then a print for the outer triangle pieces. It really pops the centre square.

Your fabrics are so charming. This is one of my favorites. I am trying to think of what I might have for this. The quilt is very cheery and needs to go to a child or young adult. It says a lot Rita: you are special, get well, congratulations. Thank you for the pattern. I need to make one for someone special.

That is such a delightful quilt. You are such an artist. I really admire your talents and appreciate your generosity in sharing the pattern and method for making this. I also would love to spend hours poring over each and every block! Love the 'red pepper' one!!

Was there any color you didn't use in this quilt? I love how bright and vibrant it is. I see brown and black in there. I'm just curious how you picked the fabrics. Even though it's scrappy I'm sure you had some game-plan.

Also, when you join the blocks together in rows how do you nest the seams? Would it work the same if I pressed the seams open? Thanks!!!

Hi Jamie Lee - the overall feel of the quilt is scrappy but I did play with the color of each individual block (I wanted to like them all!).

When sewing blocks together I pressed seams together to one side, alternating direction for each row.

When sewing rows together into a quilt top I pressed seams open. I very rarely press seams open but in this instance it was useful to do so as it spread any bulk in the seams and allowed the point to remain sharp.

I love this. And a couple of years back I participated in an I spy block exchange and they're still sitting in the bin waiting for the perfect quilt. Thank you thank you. And I'm with you - I prefer to cut a little larger and cut down. Much more accurate for me.